I Need a Hero
by greeneyedAlice91
Summary: Greg after the explosion tries to act normal but a slip up in the lab, a Skillet song, and a haunting trip down memory lane give him, and others more than they bargined for. Will he find the hero he needs or will it be all for naught? song fic.


**AN: This goes out to Blackberryhunttress, after all she is the one who got me hooked on Skillet. **

**I Need a Hero**

**Greg's Point of View**

Why is it that every time I get near my lab I just shut down? I've been to the mandated therapy after the….well the thing but it's never seemed to help. I mean my reaction to anything fire related makes me seem even more of a wimp. Not like…._him. _Oh no, _he _didn't freak the first time he was in an elevator or when Griss decided to show him the new ant farm he bought online. So if _he _can do it, why can't I? Maybe I'm just not cut out for Vegas, whether it's the lab or the field. It just sometimes I feel so helpless, even if people are trying to help. Of course that doesn't always mean they succeed. Catherine and Sara both act like I'm going to break into a million and one tiny pieces if they so much as let me out of their sight. Warrick is colder toward me, and I've heard some of the comments he's made about me. Grissom just doesn't seem to care, but then again the only things he cares about are his bugs and Sara.

I mean even my fellow lab rats are acting different; Hodges doesn't crack jokes at my expense, both Wendy and Jacqui seem to keep an eye on me, Archie isn't as chatty went I'm around and Bobby has taken to ignoring me completely. Of course the fact that he and I 'hooked up' that one time might have a little something to do with it. The only one I can count on anymore is the person I least expected….Nick Stokes. It would be all fine and dandy except for one tiny factor: my crush on him. It's just that he's so….courageous, a true gentleman, funny, sexy, sweet….heroic. I mean who would after watching someone get blown through glass, run _toward_ them instead of away? No one but Nick, as I now know. My thoughts are shaken went, at least I step, one foot at a time into the now repaired lab…my lab. But would I ever think of it that way again? I honestly don't know. To try and settle my jangled nerves, I reach for my trusty iPod. With one finger I turn it on and, after it wakes up, scroll through the songs. My playlist is a wide mix of anything rock, not just metal as some people a.k.a Warrick seem to think. My search stops as I land on a band I don't often listen to: Skillet.

Although I like their songs, they are the kind of band I have to be in the mood to listen to. After a quick scroll through the songs I finally find one I want to listen to. And of course, right away the lyrics remind me of Nick. As the song blares from the speakers I begin to sing along with the lyrics. The words are right though, I do need a hero.

**I'm just a step away  
>I'm just a breath away<br>Losing my faith today  
>Falling off the edge today<strong>

**I am just a man  
>Not superhuman<br>I'm not superhuman  
>Someone save me from the hate<strong>

Who that hero is, well that's optional. In all honest I'd prefer Nick but seeing as he's straight at a flagpole then I'll have to take my chances elsewhere. As I sign along with the song, my hands begin their routine of shaking. I try not to notice but as I fill a beaker with liquid my right hand, the one holding the glass vial, shakes so bad that the vial slips and crashes to the floor. Never before have the shakes been this bad; not even in the hospital. In vain I try and quell the panic rising within me. I quickly sit on my hands but that does next to nothing. I send out a silent prayer to whoever will listen that Grissom won't find out. Or Nick for that matter; he's be so disappointed in me, I just know it. Instead I return my focus to the song still playing and let the meaning of the lyrics take me away.

**It's just another war  
>Just another family torn<br>Falling from my faith today  
>Just a step from the edge<br>Just another day in the world we live**

**I need a hero to save me now  
>I need a hero, save me now<br>I need a hero to save my life  
>A hero will save me just in time<strong>

As the song continues I allow my mind to follow otherwise dangerous trains of thought. First and foremost, was Nick, just Nick. But those thoughts brought a round of darker, older thoughts and I was swept away with the tide of memories. The first guy I liked, really liked was a college buddy, Stanford of course. He was built kinda like Nick, strong, muscled, the jock type. His hair was blonde and his eyes were a piercing blue, almost like the ocean. I met him in Chemistry and the first time he flashed me that smile I was done for. From there I tutored him in Chemistry and the longer I was around him, the hotter my fire for him burned. Then one night we were in a dorm room, mine, his or someone else's I don't remember and the fire inside me demanded release. I released it by leaning over and kissing him. His reaction was to be expected, an angry shove to the floor, the word 'fag' spat out from behind tight lips and his shout that I leave immediately or else. I took the hint and scrabbled, on my hands and knees out the door. Where I went I really don't remember, but I ended up back in my own room, under the covers shaking like a leaf. The lyrics bring me back to the present for a moment before I dive back in the churning sludge that is my worst nightmares.

**I've gotta fight today  
>To live another day<br>Speaking my mind today  
>My voice will be heard today<strong>

**I've gotta make a stand  
>But I am just a man<br>I'm not superhuman  
>My voice will be heard today<strong>

While I'm inside my own head reliving that time in my life, the evidence Warrick and Nick needed done sits unprocessed. I take no notice as; right now I'm a sophomore in Stanford barely keeping my head above water. The incident with Terrance, that was his name, still makes me cringe as if it was yesterday. After his fierce refusal my life, social and academic took a nosedive. I hardly hung out with anyone anymore and I went from teacher's pet to back of the class. At first I thought I was fine but the minute I came to myself and found my wrist bleeding in the bathroom I knew something had snapped. I remember thinking how, on one hand the pain was delicious but on the other how reckless I was being. That was the first night I listened to Skillet; 'The Last Night' to be exact, despite the fact that I had no one to hold me at night and the fact that my family had no earthly clue what was happening to me. I clearly remember the night I decided that enough was enough. I had inhaled enough vodka to turn the heartiest of stomachs to a toilet and was sporting two fresh cuts on my left wrist. It was as I watched the blood drip on clean tile that I realized what a mess I'd made of my life all because of one person. That night I went and woke my roommate and told him everything; within 3 months I was in therapy, my grades had improved, and Terrance had been kicked out of school.

**It's just another war  
>Just another family torn<br>My voice will be heard today  
>It's just another kill<br>The countdown begins to destroy ourselves**

**I need a hero to save me now  
>I need a hero, save me now<br>I need a hero to save my life  
>A hero will save me just in time<strong>

My run down nightmare alley is interrupted by a tap on the glass. Startled I jerk up and, rubbing my left wrist reflexively look at Nick and Warrick for a moment before I plainly ask what they are doing in my lab. When they look at me like I've gone crazy and point to the unprocessed samples I jump up as though burned. With a curse I rapidly fire an excuse about daydreaming about Sara and begin work on their samples. As the evidence whirred around in the machines and both CSIs leaned against the wall opposite my station I rubbed my wrist again. Of course this time they noticed what I was doing and take it upon themselves to ask about it. I stammered something about an old injury acted up and pulled the sleeve of my lab coat higher up my hand, making sure my scars were covered. But I didn't count on my right wrist being uncovered, thereby showing everyone who cared to see, the long jagged scar on it. Nick, ever observant pointed at it and asked what happened. With a puzzled glance I look at my right wrist, completely forgetting about the slash residing there. I mumble a curse and sigh to myself. Maybe it's time to tell someone else? I mean it has been since college that this happened. Begrudgingly I motion for both men to take a seat as I take off my lab coat.

**I need a hero to save my life  
>I need a hero, just in time<br>Save me just in time  
>Save me just in time<strong>

**Who's gonna fight for what's right?  
>Who's gonna help us survive?<br>We're in the fight of our lives  
>And we're not ready to die<strong>

As Skillet's 'Hero' lyrics swirl in the air around the three of us I begin to tell my story. My eyes fall closed as I relive the kiss, the hissed slur. My hands shake as I recount crawling out the door of that dorm room and the feel of the razor on flesh. My fingers twitch as though reaching for that sharp thing, the release from my mental anguish. I draw a shuddery breath as I talk of my wild nights, all the booze and the cuts, and finally of the talk I had, spilling all my secrets. My eyes fly open once I finish talking, to gauge the reaction of my comrades. Warrick looks sad and angry; a spark of pity in his jade green eyes, Nick on the other hand is torn between rage at Terrance and…love? My tired brain thinks for a split nanosecond that that is what it is but my logical side debunks it as sorrow. Slowly time seems to pause, as if giving me this one sweet reprieve from the demons haunting me. Then the machine beeps, jolting all of us out of our silent thoughts. The printer spits out the results of the swabs and I, without looking the other way hand them to Warrick. When I'm sure both of them are gone I let the tears fall.

**Who's gonna fight for the weak?  
>Who's gonna make 'em believe?<br>I've got a hero, I've got a hero  
>Living in me<strong>

**I'm gonna fight for what's right  
>Today I'm speaking my mind<br>And if it kills me tonight  
>I will be ready to die<strong>

**A hero's not afraid to give his life  
>A hero's gonna save me just in time<strong>

I sniffle to myself and laugh harshly; who indeed? Who would be a hero to such a wimpy lab rat like me? Then as I listen closer to the words a strange sort of courage fills me and I wipe my tear stained face on the sleeve of my white lab coat. I turned around and as I do I notice Nick standing there, a look of utter heartbreaking sadness on his handsome features. Quietly I ask how much he saw; his response was to walk across the room and pull me to him. As I listen to his heartbeat in my ear I felt his body shake with sobs. Startled that he was crying, I looked up at him. Tears streamed down his cheeks and my fingers trembled as I wiped them away. In a shaky voice I ask why he's crying. Nick stares down at me with such love in his eyes as he said, "I'll be your hero baby."

**I need a hero to save me now  
>I need a hero, save me now<br>I need a hero to save my life  
>A hero will save me just in time<strong>

**(I need a hero)  
>Who's gonna fight for what's right?<br>Who's gonna help us survive?**

**(I need a hero)  
>Who's gonna fight for the weak?<br>Who's gonna make 'em believe?  
>I've got a hero<strong>

**I need a hero  
>A hero's gonna save me just in time<strong>

**AN: I really hope y'all like this little one-shot. And don't worry I won't leave ya high and dry on 'The Way the Water Flows', I'm just having a bit of writers block. Again, kudos to my lovely ami Blackberryhuntress who got me into Skillet in the first place. I saw them in concert and they rocked! Anyway, please please please leave a review! Thanks- GreeneyedAlice91**


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